Memory, when used well, allows us to manage all the information we receive, an essential method for learning well. Strategies for developing our children's memory.
Writing the word “hat” appeals to our memory. Even in adults. But for the child, to learn how to write it and remember the correct spelling, he will have to use specific strategies so that his memory finds the path leading to the desired word: visual memory strategies (photographing the word, remembering how he saw it in a book, etc.), auditory memory (separating the syllables, repeating the word aloud, etc.) and motor memory (having written it down several times by copying it, for example).
How does memory work?
At any age, it is possible to increase your ability to memorize information, unless you are the victim of neurological injuries or disorders.
Here are the two important mechanisms of our memory
- Store information, that is to store and classify information (encode it, sort it, associate it, use mental images, etc.).
- Find, that is to say to retrieve information whereit lies in order to use it.
Germain Duclos uses an image to better illustrate the process and makes the analogy between our memory and the work of a librarian. “In storing books, the librarian must use classification, call number and reference systems to be efficient. It is the same phenomenon for memory. Indeed, the storage of information and knowledge must be well organized so that the recovery is easy. Recovering memories and information from one's memory requires strategies or means, and these are effective if, beforehand, the storage of these memories has been well organized. »
Mental images
Associating an image with information is a process that allows, among other things, a rich imaginary life, but is also the basis of a host of learning. “Mental images give meaning to what is learned and allow knowledge to be retained for a long time. For example, when a child reads, he puts mental images on words, and when he writes, he puts words on mental images.
It is not so much by its content that reading is so motivating and a source of pleasure as by the mental images that it allows to evoke. You cannot promote memory in your child without encouraging him to evoke mental images,” writes Germain Duclos in the book Guider mon enfant dans son vie scolaire (Éditions Sainte-Justine).
Around 18 months, children begin toreproduce mental images in their heads. They gradually manage to represent objects or notions that they do not really see. Among other things, this is how they manage to cope better with the absence of their parents.
Mom Stuff
For example, to remember the names of the planets of the solar system (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune), they are taught a key phrase:
MWednesday, Viendras- Tu M anger with Jean Sur Une N call
Or
Mon Vieux Toutou M edor J oue S ur U n Nuage
You can invent this kind of funny sentence to remember a lot of series (spelling exceptions, countries, capitals, etc.
Memory Boost Strategies
- You need to foster an environment where there are few distractions and avoid interference as much as possible. For example, it is difficult to memorize a telephone number if, at the same time, someone asks you for a favor.
- Elements at the beginning and end of a series are remembered better than those in the middle. For example, if the child has to memorize multiplication tables, it is better to start from time to time with the multiples of 6 and 7 so that these take the first place in his memory, instead of always ending up in the middle..
- You have to know the cognitive style ofthe child to suggest good memorization strategies. If he learns rather in a global and synthetic way, by favoring visual input, it is appropriate to make him visualize the information by diagrams, drawings and to point out the visual characteristics of the information. But if he learns more in a sequential, analytical way, emphasizing auditory input, it is recommended that he repeat the words, spell them, also use nursery rhymes and songs.
- If, in a place of the list to memorize, we introduce an element that is very different from the others, the child remembers the neighboring elements better. For example, they will hear the jingling of a bell immediately before or after difficult words in a series of words to memorize.
- The most effective strategy is to make logical or even fanciful associations between the various items to be memorized. For example, in the memorization of words, the child will be able to retain in an associative block these three elements: peasant, grass, horse. He can also make associations of sounds: ceiling, sheep, cardboard. The most important thing is that the child can create in him visual or auditory mental images thanks to the associations. The repechage is then greatly facilitated. This is most effective when it is the child himself who finds or invents the associations. Even if these seem weird or illogical to you, they are likely to be effective.
- Information or knowledge that makes sense ismemorize more easily. The child can be helped to develop a semantic structure, even with disparate words such as these: house, paper, wanderer. These are easier to remember in this context: "the wanderer dropped a piece of paper near my house". It is possible to memorize hundreds of words with this strategy.
- New information should be repeated, but widening the interval between each attempt. You have to use dosage to support your motivation.
- The more strategies the child masters, the better their chances of effectively retrieving the information and knowledge acquired, just like a fisherman who has several hooks on his line.
- Finally, it is important to emphasize that in addition to supporting all learning, mental images and memory also support the child's creativity. Language, writing, symbolic games, bodily activities and visual arts are all ways of expressing one's imagination and asserting one's identity. This is how the child gives back, in his own way, the we alth he has received from adults.
